Race Day Notes

Date	NOTES
30/11/2008	Not much current in the morning BUT a bitterly cold NW wind and raining. The afternoon was drier but the current had increased and and one wanted to sail.
23/11/2008	Very cold and wet; no sailing.
16/11/2008	Although the sailing program ended last week we intended to continue sailing but there was a lot of current and no wind so there was no sailing.
09/11/2008	The last day of scheduled racing had a very gusty and shifty SW force 3 gusting 5 wind and a 1 knt current that didn't cause to much of a problem. Rain was threatening but it rained mainly when we weren't sailing.
02/11/2008	The forecast of E 5-7 kts looked reasonble BUT it actually was a fairly steady NW to NE 2-4 knt wind with 1-2 knts of current and it was very difficult to progress upstream. There was a very short course that was shortened even more to enable boats to reach the upstream mark. It was a disaster to drift below the downstream mark into the wind shadow of the car park trees. Lap times ranged from 4 mins to 40 mins and in the afternoon race the number of laps from 2 to 9. The 2nd afternoon race was abandoned because boats couldn't reach the upstream mark (until after it was abandoned).
26/10/2008	It rained thoughout the morning race with very little NW wind that made it difficult to make way upstream against the 0.5knt current. Fortunately the rain stopped by after lunch, as forecast, but the wind didn't increase a bit until the 2nd afternoon race. The faster boats had a big advantage.
19/10/2008	The SW 3 to 12 knt wind was extremely fluky and gusty. Up stream of the club it was just possible beat along the the bank as long as you were very close to it; but you lost out badly if you had to tack.
12/10/2008	A very hot day for October but very little wind and the morning race start was delayed an hour. There was only a slight current but it made it very difficult for the slower boats to make way upstream and there were several retirments.
05/10/2008	A horrible day, wet and extremely variable shifty and fluky N wind, generally light but some sharp gusts came close to causing capsizes.
04/10/2008	John Neale with Tony Hopkins and Frank Rainsborough with a QMS mate sailed in the Open Bosun Dinghy Regatta at the Royal Navy Sailing Centre, Whale Island, Portsmouth. It was very windy, 25-30 kts, and only the 2 morning races were sailed. Racing on 5 October was also cancelled. There was an entry of 28 and our members did very well with Frank 7th and John 14th.
28/09/2008	Weather was sunny and still. The river flow was very light. Wind was forecast NW but in reality was more Westerly ranging from 0 to 1. The morning 'fun' race was not run because there was no wind what so ever. The afternoon race started at 2:00pm. and was shortened after 40mins. 3 boats competed over a triangular course, all port marks, upstream start. The second race attracted four boats, one of which retired after one lap.This race was also shortened to 40mins as what wind there was died.
21/09/2008	The day was pleasant warm/cool weather with a light Easterly breeze and moderate river current. Most of the light breeze seemed to be concentrated in the area downstream of the Club. A course was set so as to make it as easy as possible to get around: straight down and back up the river to an upstream mark only just upstream of the start/finish line. Boats had a choice of marks at each side of the river at each end, allowing them to hug the bank on the upstream legs if they so chose. This was successful, with boats lapping in about 10 minutes. The same design of course was held all day, although extended in length after the fun race. Four boats competed in the fun race and seven to eight in the main points races.
14/09/2008	A steady East 5 to 7 knt wind gave ideal sailing conditions even though there was still a 2knt current. The first afternoon race was also made the Cundy Trophy long distance race. The patrol boat went upstream just ahead of the fleet and dropped the mark beyond the lock at Wilson's Ferry. The last boat rounded it 40 minutes after leaving the Club and the total race time for the first boat back was 62 minutes. It was a very enjoyable race and most helm had never sailed that far upstream. Hanna Lunniss won the Trophy on Personnal Handicap.
07/09/2008	The morning race wasn't run as after very heavy rain there was a 3knts current. There was a 2 gust 3 west wind and in the afternooon a very short course was sailed giving a choice of marks at each end.
03/09/2008	There was a very gusty west 3 to 4 wind and Rodger Wheeler gave the Valentine family exiting sails in his Bosun. We weren't sure if the squeals were of terror or pleasure but they came back for a second helping.
31/08/2008	It was pretty dire at the Club; there was no wind and light drizzle in the morning and the fun race was cancelled, The rain stopped by lunch time and it was possible to make some headway in the very light and variable conditions. The first Sprint race was a bit hairy with a dramatic thunderstorm half way through with accompanying squalls! The Signet Open Meeting at Fishers Green also had no wind and the boats were towed out to the start.
25/08/2008	The shifty and gusty SW 3-4 gust 5 wind at Bewl Water gave 21 visiting AQSC members excellent sailing, although fairly challenging for some and there were a number of capsizes.
24/08/2008	Damp drizzly at first and few members around but many came down later. It ended up a very nice sailing day with 5-8 knt west wind. About 25 members were around in the afternoon and there was cruising and recent members taken out.
17/08/2008	The force 2-3 West wind was very fluky, shifty and gusty but gave a good sail. There were 10 boats racing.
10/08/2008	The West force 3 gust 5 wind was extremely shifty, fluky and gusty and there was some rain. As there were many new members at the club all agreed to give priority to taken them out rather than race; the 3 bosuns were ideal for this and 5 other boats were out. Fortunately there were no capsizes. After tea there were 2 short fun races to give the new members race experience.
07/08/2008	The SigneT Nationals at Chichester YC from 2 to 7 August had excellent sailing conditions although the wind was a bit strong at times. It started with the practice race having 7-10 kt West wind. Most days had 15 to 20 knts and maximum gusts were 25 knts.
03/08/2008	Fun Sailing only, wind WSW/W 2-3, stream 1Knt.Cloudy patchy rain squalls. Pat Irvin did good job on galley duty.
27/07/2008	A very hot no wind day and although there was hardly any current there wasn't enough wind to sail until gone 17:00. The patrol boat and Stuart Schaffer's cruiser went up to Sunbury lock as an alternative activity. Following on from last week's junior event there were a lot of families with juniors having a great time in canoes and inflatable boats etc. We gained 3 or 4 new family members so very successaful.
23/07/2008	The steady force 2 East wind gave excellent sailing. Conditions were perfect for going upstream and Tony Hopkins had an evening sail in a Laser up to Sunbury lock; there in 20 minutes with the return taking 30 minutes.
20/07/2008	Simon Lunniss had organised an early morning sail for 20 or so juniors; a fine day with a fairly steady W force 2 wind gave ideal conditions and everyone had a great time.
13/07/2008	There was very little wind and 1 to 2 knts of current due to heavy rain during the week. In the morning fun race only half the boats manage to cross the start line so for the afternoon race the boats were towed upstream to beyond the Magpie pub at Sunbury and then they race back to the club. There was then a bit more wind and the faster boats were able to complete the 2 short Sprint races.
12/07/2008	The SigneT Open meeting in the Grafham Water Beds & Cambs Reggatta had excellent sailing conditions with a NNW 3 to 4 gust 5 wind. There were surprising large short waves which made it quite hairy and there were many capsizes; but not amongst the SigneTs.
06/07/2008	An unpleasent intermittent wet day. The force 2-3 gust 4 wind was extremely fluky, shifty and gusty; frequent instant 90 degree shifts. But after the first lap of the last race there was a sudden change and the shifts were replaced by a very good steady wind although still intermittent rain. The river was absolutely empty and very peaceful probably due to the tennis final and the F1 British Grand Prix.
29/06/2008	The Regatta Sunday was also fine with what seemed a similar wind but although we could still goosewind downwind there was a Southerly component to the wind and it was much more gusty and shifty making sailing much harder.
28/06/2008	The Regatta started with a super day; fine, hot with a very good West force 2 to 3 gust 4 wind. Sailing was super; the best we have had for a long time. It was just as good for the Greek Evening social.
22/06/2008	Hampton SC regatta had the rare combination of an extremely strong gusty SW wind and very fine weather. Before racing the wind indicator was showing 15 to 20 knots with gusts of 30 knots; every race had gusts of force 7!! It was very exciting sailing and entertaining for the spectators with many capsizes. Charles Dennis capsized before the start of the first race and during the day had 12 capsizes.
21/06/2008	There was light drizzle for AQSC boats going to the Hampton SC regatta but fortunately it cleared up. The 5 to 10kt S to SW wind gave the best sail we have had for a long time; although it was extremely patchy, fluky and shifty.
15/06/2008	The current had dropped to about 1 knt and in the morning at first there was enough WNW wind to get round but then the wind droped making it very slow. After the first lap in the afternoon there was very little wind and it was nearly impossible to make way against the current. The last race was changed to the Fun series and some boats managed to make way upstream, then 3 boats were towed upstream to meet them. They then 'raced' 400 yds back to the slipway.
08/06/2008	Although a very fine day and not too bad wind there had been a lot of rain so there was still a very strong currents. When a start line mark was laid the anchor wouldn't hold and the mark drifted down stream; racing was cancelled.
01/06/2008	There had been a lot of rain so there was 4knts current and practically no wind so we didn't expect to sail. Then Mick Rogers launched and surprisingly just made way upstream so the Fun race was held; but Nigel Knowles was the only one that finished. For the aternoon races the boats were towed up to the Channel Marker and released to try and sail upstream for 30 minues (some started going downstream because they hadn't looked at the course); they could barely maintain station. Then a race back to the club took 17 minutes. Results were not evaluated for the afternoon sail.
25/05/2008	The forecast was for it to be very wet all day; fortunately the rain stopped about 11:00 and there was even some sun in the afternoon. BUT there was no wind so the new members who came down were given some training in handling the patrol boats. From 15:15 to 15:30 the wind rapidly increased to a NE force 2 to 3 which gave a few members a very good sail. The forecast for Monday at Bewl was terrible (wet with 20 to 30 mph wind) so it was decided it would be prudent to cancel the visit. On Monday I had an email from Audrey Warley, of Bewl, saying we had made the right decision because the weather was foul and that there were no boats on the slipway. The wind had been up to 40Knts!!
18/05/2008	The very shifty NE force 2-3 wind and a fine day gave a very good sail. After coming to the Open Sunday the Addauche family returned; although they hadn't sailed before all three crewed in the last race.
11/05/2008	Another glorious day for the 2nd open day but this time the force 2 to 4 East wind gave near perfect sailing conditions for introducing visitors to sailing. To encoraged her friends to come Anna Iremonger held a birthday party for her daughter Lydia. There were 22 groups with 45 people
10/05/2008	A gloroius day day for the first open day but there was very little wind so it suited the BBQ in the evening more than sailing for visitors. There were 10 groups of visitors totalling 20 people. Over 40 members and friends enjoyed a great BBQ.
04/05/2008	SE to S 0-1 - very muggy weather. Not very exciting sailing for those watching as the wind was almost non-existent for much of the time. However, some of the competitors commented that it was an interesting course (thanks to Graham!). 7 boats competed in the fun race - 6 in the Spring 5 and 5 in the Spa 4 with one retiring after the first lap. Graham Thompson manned the patrol boat for the fun race with Stuart Schafer taking over for the rest of the day to enable Graham to race. Leo Bond coped well with his first stint as OOD.
27/04/2008	The morning started with rain that cleared up by the afternoon. The wind was very variable and change from SW before racing started to ESE 0 to gust 2 for the first race to S 1-2 gust 3-4 for the last race; it was very fluky. All races also counted for the postponed Easter Egg Trophies as well as the normal series.; it was the Eastern Orthodox Easter.
26/04/2008	The weather was perfect for the working party, fine and warm; 32 members attended.
20/04/2008	It was much warmer than Saturday, even some sun, the force 2 to 3 gusting 4 ENE wind gave very good sailing. Tony Hopkins did well for his first time as OOD.
19/04/2008	Terrible weather forecast for the Mid-Thames Trophy races a Hampton SC; very wet, cold and windy. It was bitterly cold, feeling like 2 degree C. but fortunately very little rain. The 12 to gusting 23knt E wind gave very exiting sailing ; there were many capsizes.
13/04/2008	SW to S 0-3 very variable and fluky. Race 3 was wet and the start was postponed because Pat Halling capsized near the bank and his Laser blew away and had to be recovered.
06/04/2008	Before sailing 40mm of snow then light snow on and off throughout the day. A bitterly cold F1 gust 2 NE to NW wind; enough to make way against the 2 knt current.
30/03/2008	On Saturday there was rain and a very strong current and there didn't seem that sailing would be possible. Fortunately Sunday was warm, fine and the current had reduced; it was just possible to make way upstream at times with the patchy SW force 1 to 2 wind. In the Fun race Grayham Thompson shot away and his first lap only took 6 minutes BUT he took 43 minutes to do 2 laps. The wind had died by the last race and the fleet was towed up to the Channel Marker and released to race upstream for 30mins; they only made a few yards upstream going the North side of Sunbury Court Island. There was then a race back to the club which only took 9 minutes.
23/03/2008	The first scheduled racing was for the Easter Egg Trophies but it was bitterly cold with snow, and there was a strong current current making racing impossible; the Easter Egg Trophy races were cancelled.
06/01/2008	The first Sunday of the year was very fine and although a bit of current and not much wind 3 AQSC boats took to the water. Bryan Clements and Pat Halling sailed, and Graham Thompson rowed Eiko up to the Weir Hotel.